This curiosity naturally enforces them to remember the content in the previous pages, so they can understand the story ahead. Reading books with interesting fiction ignites curiosity in children about the story. It is amazing for their mental health and helps build emotional resilience because in life there will be some unfamiliar situations and if they haven't heard about it or read about it, they would think it is just happing with them," says Arouba Kabir. They are able to manage their emotions better, have more knowledge and good cognitive development. Children are able to develop a creative side if they are given good stuff to read. "Reading is good for anyone's mental health. Colourful imagery is scientifically proven to boost children’s serotonin levels, which helps them remember the pictures that made them happy," says Bharat Sharma. "In children’s books, words and sentences are often aligned with vivid illustrations. When kids read books, they are able to experience the lives of other characters and they can identify how they are feeling," says the mental health expert.Ĭhildren also get comfort and happiness out of books thanks to the colourful imagery and vivid illustrations which boosts their serotonin levels. "Reading also helps in developing emotions like kindness, empathy which is being able to understand what people are going through. This extrapolation requires them to refresh their memory and strengthen their retention power," says Sharma. When a child comes across other similar books or real-life instances that resemble what they have read, they learn to connect the dots and extrapolate their knowledge. "The consistent practice of reading and revisiting the pages increases children’s familiarity with words, which they eventually remember.
When a child starts reading, they develop intelligence reasoning language information processing, which is why it is very important for children to learn reading," says Arouba Kabir, Mental Health counselor & Founder, Enso Wellness. "Reading helps immensely with cognitive development of a child. Reading aloud even encourages children to learn the correct pronunciation of a word," he says. Or they may be able to recollect how the book looked and remember the story they read. If a child struggles with remembering the spelling of a word, they will think of how it sounded when they or their parent read it aloud. "Each sense interdependently creates a memory package that helps children remember what they learned. Reading from a book enhances visual, auditory, as tactual as well olfactory senses, says Bharat Sharma, Director of Souvenir Publishers. (Also read: 10 easy tips to manage your mental health) Reading with your children also promotes their well-being as they develop warm and happy associations with books and their characters.
As per researchers reading helps connect us with the complex network of circuits and signals in the brain and as our reading skills mature, so does these networks. Books not just educate us but introduce us to a world of imagination and stimulates creativity and analytical skills. World Book Day 2022: Books are our best companions for life and this special bond starts developing right from childhood.